TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT ACTIONS: A STUDY OF THE ENERGY COSTS

Transportation system management (TSM) actions often save energy, primarily through diversion. They also incur energy costs of construction, maintenance, and operation. This paper examines the magnitude of such costs. Selected TSM actions that are scheduled for implementation in New York State are examined to determine the aspects of the projects that generate energy costs. Appropriate energy factors (equivalent gallons of gasoline per dollar of project cost) are given for many types of actions and there is a brief discussion of procedures for determining these factors. Estimates are provided for the cost of typical TSM projects. On the average, energy costs represent approximately 15 percent of energy savings. Actions such as encouragement of ridesharing have the smallest energy costs, and actions that result in additional transit vehicle miles of travel have the largest. (Author)